2022 – Nicaragua and Costa Rica: Turtles, Toucans (and Stingrays

Jon: A flight of just over five hours brought us from Denver to Liberia, Costa Rica. Amy and I stayed at the Hilton Garden Inn next to the airport the first night. We enjoyed the pool, some of our favorite easy drinkin’ beer (Pilsen), and a nice dinner. The next morning we had a traditional breakfast of gallo pinto, which is beans and rice and translates to spotted rooster, which was accompanied with scrambled eggs. We headed back to the airport and boarded a shuttle to the Costa Rica/Nicaragua border.

The trip to the border was fairly quick, The driver darted around slower vehicles in daring passing attempts. Once at the border, things were a bit awkward with a group photo being taken. We quickly learned that it was for the shuttle driver on the Nicaragua side, so he could recognize us. The shuttle service had an expediter to help us navigate through. Even with help, the crossing took a while and it was notably hot in the building. In the end, we managed to get through without issue and were on the road toward San Juan del Sur. The town has a cool vibe that I’d describe as part fishing port and part surf destination. We had a quick lunch before picking up a rental car and braving potholed roads to Playa el Coco where we’d stay for two nights.

The La Veranera Guest House served as our base while in Playa el Coco. It’s really relaxed with friendly staff, a warm and inviting pool, and an excellent view of the Pacific. It also had an honor bar, which is an amenity we really appreciate. We tallied up a couple cold beers to enjoy by the pool and made arrangements to have fresh fish for dinner.

Delicious red snapper was served that evening. Amy wasn’t quite sure how to eat a fish complete with head and eyes, she did a great job. I cleaned up for her, as I can often pack away a few extra bites. We watched the sunset and settled in for an early night. The next morning would bring a pre-dawn expedition to nearby Playa La Flor in anticipation of some special wildlife viewing.

We woke at 4 am and quietly made our way to the car. We bounced down the rough road, forded across a shallow water crossing and through mud in a not exceptionally capable compact with inadequate tires. After navigating some significant ruts to reach our final destination – the Refugio de Vida Silvestre La Flor, I parked the car and made my way in the complete darkness to a dimly lit building in the distance. It seemed like no one was around. Amy and I found a young woman who took our admission fee and placed a red cover over our phone flashlights. This is a safety measure to avoid distrubing the sea turtles on shore, which we had come to see. We worked our way to the beach where many female turtles were laying their eggs. The amount of effort the turtles put forth to get on and off shore and burrow into the sand to lay eggs was impressive. We gave them adequate space and much deserved respect. Unfortunately, we did not see any hatchlings. After a good viewing, we headed back to the guest house with a plan to return if there would be hatchlings in the night.

We caught a nap, had some breakfast, and opted to wade into the ocean. We walked into the warm waters of the Pacific and enjoyed the waves splashing into us. We were just about to head in when I felt an acute and severe stabbing pain in my foot. I lept upward and immediately turned to shore. I thought I had been bitten by a crab. Once on shore, I noted a small cut and swelling. I asked the guest house owner for some ice stating that I may have been bitten by a crab. She asked a few questions and promptly informed me that I was stung by a stingray. She said, instead of ice, I needed a hot water soak to break down and draw out as much of the stingray’s poison as possible. I endured some remarkable pain for the next 90 minutes. It finally subsided after about two hours of soaking time and ample ibuprofen. One saying Amy and I have adopted is “it’s either a good time or a good story”. No doubt, this was the latter. Luckily, it was just a brief inconvenience that would not ruin our trip. In fact, we’d have one more fun surprise in Playa el Coco before moving on.

As we watched the sun dip toward the horizon, a local stopped by to tell us that the neighboring turtle sanctuary was going to release hatchlings around sunset. Amy and I were quite excited to visit the small hut where the caretakers showed us the little turtles that had just hatched and been collected for release. We watched the sunset across the ocean as the waves lapped at the shore. After it was fairly dark, and less likely a predator would spot the wee turtles, the caretakers deposited them one-by-one on the beach. The little turtles used their flippers to ‘walk’ to the water and disappeared in the waves. It was an amazing sight to see these brave new creatures work their way into the vast ocean. We truly enjoyed this experience and savored it before heading back for dinner. We went to bed with full hearts and stomachs. It was a great way to conclude our time in Playa el Coco.

After another great breakfast of gallo pinto and scrambled eggs, we headed back to San Juan Del Sur. The town is an eclectic mix of a fishing harbor and surfer haven with small fishing boats lining the shore and a scattering of hotels and hostels. Dogs freely roam the streets in this laid back place. Our first stop was the Cristo de La Misericordia, or ‘BIG Jesus’ statue, that overlooks the town. This is a great place to see the entire municipality and catch glimpses beyond. From there, we checked into the Victoriano Hotel where we took a few moments to relax in the air conditioning before venturing out to find a pharmacy for bandages and antibiotics to treat my foot.

We managed to get some foot supplies and happily made our way to a garden courtyard restaurant for lunch. Tucked back with a handful of tourists and a begging dog, we unwound and enjoyed a sandwich. A walk around of town, ducking in and out of various shops, brought us back to the beachfront and our hotel. Given its size, the town can easily be explored in a day. We made one key stop at the market for a couple Toña beers. For dinner, I found a micro brewery that served food. We enjoyed the craft beer, a pulled pork sandwich, and some of the best tacos I’ve ever had. We took note of a street vendor across the street who seemed to have quite the following for whatever was coming off the grill. It smelled delicious, but we were stuffed from our dinner already.

Early the next morning, we were picked up by the border shuttle and started our way back to Costa Rica. An earlier border arrival spared us some waiting and heat that we encountered the first time. I’ve often found crossing borders by land to have some hold-up or challenge, but this was relatively easy despite a lack of signs. The shuttle does not cross, so we found our next van with the help of others who crossed with us and were off toward Liberia and another rental car.

We rented from Avis in both Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Recalling the potholed roads with small water crossings in Nicaragua, we became concerned when the clerk in Liberia informed us that the roads to La Fortuna were bad. Bad, how bad, can they be worse than Nicaragua? We were pleased to find the roads were extremely good by comparison. They were curvy and narrow, but quite easy going on our way to La Fortuna, our final destination.

The town of La Fortuna lies beneath the Arenal Volcano, which towers over its surroundings. The volcano has a sorted history of destroying villages and providing thermal pools for bathing. The latter is what brought us back to the area. We’ve been in this location twice before and really enjoy the relaxing thermal pools that allegedly carry therapeutic minerals. Having stayed at one location twice before, we tried a new place called Paradise Hot Springs. The reception was very warm and easy. Following the foot incident, this seemed to be the perfect place to relax. A young man eagerly showed us the facilities and our room – everything was quite nice. We enjoyed the pools and swim up bar.

We bathed in the hot springs in the evenings. During the days, we checked out the eclectic town of La Fortuna. We had a fun side mission of trying to replace a souvenir frog magnet from years ago that had been broken. We found some good restaurants and beer in town during our trips there as well. We even stopped by the fire station, but the bomberos (firefighters) were out on a call.

We noted flocks of parakeets darting around and wondered if we’d be able to spot any other wildlife in the area. On our last day, we took a morning walk and, with much excitement, found a tree full of chestnut-mandibled toucans across the street from our hotel! With enthusiasm for more animal sightings, we made a day trip to the opposite side of the volcano. We ended up on a random dirt road in search of a place we’d visited years ago. We encountered some coati and then another tree full of toucans! Such a great experience seeing these beautiful birds. We found our way up to an overlook restaurant at an adventure business that runs ziplines and hanging bridge hikes. We enjoyed some craft beer and beautiful views of Lake Arenal and the Arenal Volcano.

Sadly, our quick trip was coming to an end. We woke to a light rain and made our way back toward the airport. It was a fitting end to the trip – a way to appreciate all the good weather and enjoy a cooler day. We saw a group of coati on our trip back. Amy loved seeing the babies. It was a great way to fill our hearts and conclude our trip.